A video from a strange interaction with Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso is going viral and sparking outcry online.
The clip, believed to have been filmed back in February, shows Gyatso at his temple in Dharamshala, with 100 young students who had just graduated from the Indian M3M Foundation.
One young male student approached a microphone at the event and asked the Dalai Lama: “Can I hug you?” The 87-year-old told the boy to come up to the platform where he was seated. He is heard saying “First here,” after which the child kissed him and hugged him. From there, the Dalai Lama kept hold of the boy, saying “I think here also” and then planted a kiss on his lips. “And suck my tongue,” he allegedly added while sticking out his tongue.
The boy tried sticking out his own tongue but quickly moved away while the Dalai Lama laughed and pulled the boy in for another hug.
Since the clip has gone viral, the Dali Lama has been receiving heavy backlash. However, he’s now speaking out to apologize for his behavior.
“His Holiness wishes to apologize to the boy and his family as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused. His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras. He regrets the incident.”
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Despite the apology, the Dalai Lama has faced similar controversies in the past. Back in 2019, he caused an outcry after suggesting that if the Dalai Lama returned as a woman “she should be more attractive.” At the time, his office also apologized.
A statement read, “Firstly, in responding to a question about whether his own reincarnation could be a woman, and suggesting that if she were she should be attractive, His Holiness genuinely meant no offense.
“He is deeply sorry that people have been hurt by what he said and offers his sincere apologies. His Holiness consistently emphasizes the need for people to connect with each other on a deeper human level, rather than getting caught up in preconceptions based on superficial appearances.”
This is something everyone who has the chance to meet with him recognizes and appreciates. The original context of his referring to the physical appearance of a female successor was a conversation with the then Paris editor of Vogue magazine, who had invited His Holiness in 1992 to guest-edit the next edition. She asked if a future Dalai Lama could be a woman.
His Holiness replied, ‘Certainly, if that would be more helpful,’ adding, as a joke, that she should be attractive. He was at least partially responding to the unfamiliar ambiance of working with a team whose prime focus was the world of high fashion.”
“For all his long life, His Holiness has opposed the objectification of women, has supported women and their rights, and celebrated the growing international consensus in support of gender equality and respect for women.
Under his leadership, Tibetan nuns in exile earned Geshe-ma degrees, indicating a high level of scholarship previously reserved only for male monks. His Holiness has frequently suggested that if we had more women leaders, the world would be a more peaceful place,” the statement read at the time.